India, Aug. 20 -- Recently, by 86 votes to 11, the US Senate passed a bill that could turn a barrel of crude oil bought from Russia into tariffs on Indian exports wholly unrelated to oil. The bill, however, preserved waivers for limited imports of Russian enriched uranium. Revenue from Russian energy exports helps Moscow sustain the war in Ukraine. That is a serious case for action. The harder question is who is punished, who gets waivers, and, most importantly, who decides.

The bill passed by the Senate is not yet law. If enacted, it would allow additional tariffs of up to 100% on goods exported to the US by countries that continue buying Russian oil or gas and rank among the five largest buyers, or among the five leading facilitators o...